


Beauty and the Beasts

by writingpancake



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-16 16:25:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8109367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingpancake/pseuds/writingpancake
Summary: When Rocksteady goes on a date with a woman, Bebop is forced to acknowledge he may care more for his red haired partner than he lets on.





	1. Petite Little Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bopsteady Week 2016 Day Two. The prompt was kiss.

He tried to remind himself that he had said it wouldn’t bother him. Rock had asked him if it was all right, if he was all right with it, and Bebop had said yes. But there was a tightness in his throat he didn’t want to understand and his stomach churned in a way that made him regret his choice of spicy barbecue wings for dinner. He had assured Rocksteady it was okay, so damn it, it was okay.

Except it wasn’t. Bebop wasn’t okay with what Rock asked, but to say no would have meant admitting that he felt more strongly about his red haired partner in crime than he let on. He tried to reason with himself. He knew Rock would have said yes if Bebop had asked the same question. But Bebop had not asked that question and he had no intention of doing so.

It was long night of waiting for Rock to get back and all Bebop could think about for all those hours was what he was doing with her. Was Rock going to kiss her? Was he going to sleep with her? Was he going to leave with her and leave Bebop to his life of crime alone?

Don’t be stupid, he berated himself. Rock may like this girl, but he wasn’t going to give up causing mayhem for her. Hell, Bebop wouldn’t be surprised if she wasn’t into causing a little mayhem herself. Rock wouldn’t go for anyone who was too straight laced. 

The sound of the door opening pulled Bebop from his thoughts. He turned to to greet his partner and stopped short when he saw her.

She looked so tiny next to Rocksteady. Of course, everyone looked small next to the ginger behemoth, but she looked especially small. Bebop expected that she would look petite next to almost anyone. It wasn’t her stature that really caught him off guard, though. It was the way her hand rested low on Rock’s chest and how she looked so at ease smiling up at the larger man. It made something in Bebop’s stomach shift uncomfortably and he cleared his throat to get their attention. He regretted doing so immediately.

Both sets of eyes turned towards him standing in open space of the loft. Rock’s eyes lit up some, but the young woman shifted her weight from foot to foot and averted her gaze. Bebop hoped his own awkwardness wasn’t as obvious as hers. 

“Beebs!” Rocksteady broke away from his date and walked over his partner. “My man! I didn’t t’ink you’d still be up!”

Bebop’s gaze broke away from the woman still standing in the entrance way.

“Uh, yeah. Well, I was hoping to hear about your hot date, but I see it’s still going on.”

The smile on Rocksteady’s face widened and something in his expression softened. And, if Bebop wasn’t mistaken, it looked like Rock seemed hesitant when he spoke.

“Yeah, it went really well,” he said quietly. “I t’ought I’d bring her back to meet yeh. So yeh could get to know her some.” He dropped his head a bit and his shaggy mohawk fell across his eyes. “I know yeh weren’t too sure about this, but I t’ink you’d get along with her. She’s tougher than she looks.”

Bebop spared a glance over his looming partner’s shoulder. Rocksteady’s date for the night had been watching the exchange and Bebop thought she had figured out what the conversation was about even though they had used hushed voices. 

She did have the look of someone who could fight if needed. Her smaller build would put opponents at ease, which she could easily use against them. It was similar to what people thought when they saw Bebop standing next to Rocksteady. They always assumed that Rock was the one to take out first, but it was Bebop who dealt the worse damage. Rock liked to use his fists and sometimes a baseball bat, but Bebop always carried his knife on him. Bebop would pull that knife, which was always sharpened enough to cut through a hair, and use it before their opponents ever made it Rocksteady.

Yeah, Bebop could see how this petite little thing in their loft could be misjudged.

“Hey, little girl,” he called to her. “You don’t have to stand in the doorway all night. Come on in.” With that said, Bebop made his way to the dilapidated couch and sat back down. He heard the young woman take cautious steps to where Rock was standing, but he didn’t look back at them. They both came around to the front of the couch and Rocksteady sat down next to him. His date sat carefully on the folding chair they had stolen from the dingy take out place down the street. She looked at Bebop for a few moments before she spoke.

“I’m not a little girl.” Her voice was smooth and not nearly as high pitched as Bebop expected it to be. “Calling me a little girl demeans me more than I’m willing to allow.”

Bebop scoffed at that, but noticed Rocksteady looking at him from his spot on the couch. The shorter man realized that Rock really wanted him to try to like this woman, so he’d try. 

“All right. You’re a little young woman then. Is that better?”

“It is.”

She said it so quickly and sincerely that Bebop’s head spun for a moment. Now, it had been a long time since he’d had to deal with any sort of woman, but he sure as shit didn’t remember them being like this. So he took time to really look at her. She had some muscle definition in her arms, but not enough to be noticeable at first glance. She trains a bit then, probably at a gym. Her skin is smooth and her clothes are clean, so she’s well off enough to afford to do laundry regularly and she probably has a normal job.

“I gotta say, you don’t seem like Rock’s type. How’d you convince him to take you out?” Bebop heard Rocksteady make a nervous noise beside him. He’d always been the one to look out for Rock, though. He wasn’t about to let some uptown girl come around and mess with his partner’s emotions.

“He caught me destroying property,” she said with a small smile. 

“You’ll understand my disbelief, I’m sure. You don’t really look the type to wreck things. You look like you belong in a boarding school upstate.”

Rocksteady let out a snort and his date’s smile widened.

“Funny you should say that,” she said. “Because it was actually my old boarding school headmaster’s car that I was breaking.” A genuine smile spread across her face at Bebop’s confused expression. “You’re correct in assuming I’m from the right side of the tracks. I went to a boarding school upstate and I hated it. Too oppressive for me, so I acted out. The headmaster was not kind to me when I was there, so when his car showed up at a pharmacy near my apartment three weeks ago I took the opportunity to get some good old fashioned revenge.” 

“You should’ve seen her, Beebs. She broke into his car and used his own cricket bat to break the windows.”

The conversation got easier after that and it flowed consistently until Rocksteady got up to use the toilet. Bebop expected awkward silence, so he was surprised when the woman spoke as soon as the bathroom door closed.

“I know about your relationship with Rocksteady. He told me you were fine with me and him going out, but you don’t seem fine.” She shook her head when Bebop tried to interrupt. “It’s okay. I understand. I’m not here to step on toes or get in the way of what you have with Rocksteady. I do need to know right now, though, whether you’re open to the relationship between the three of us. Because it won’t work for any of us if one person isn't on board.”

Bebop wasn’t sure what he was expecting to happen tonight, but this sure as hell wasn’t it.

“Between the three of us? What do you mean?”

“I mean the three of us being in a relationship. Something is happening between me and Rock right now and something is going on with you and Rock already. I don’t know if anything will ever happen between me and you, but I’d be open to it if you were.” She paused and took a breath. “What I mean is, would you be willing to engage in an open, poly relationship with me, Rocksteady, and you?”

She was so earnest and her eyes were pleading so hard that Bebop heard himself saying yes before he realized it. The smile that spread across her face was so genuine and joyful that he didn’t even really regret the decision, though he wasn’t sure how it was all going to work. He vaguely registered Rocksteady’s boots plodding on the floorboards, but didn’t react until he felt his hand on his shoulder.

“You said yes?”

Bebop nodded and had the breath knocked out of him when Rock threw himself over the back of the couch and planted an awkwardly placed kiss on Bebop’s chin. He nearly tumbled off the couch with Rocksteady, but caught himself on the arm just before he hit the floor. Rock, however, kept rolling and landed in a heap on the floorboards. 

Laughing, Rock pulled himself up and rushed over to his new girlfriend and pulled her into his arms. Bebop watched as she tilted her head up and placed a soft kiss on Rocksteady’s lips.

“This gonna be the craic,” Rocksteady laughed.

And Bebop kinda believed him.


	2. Let Me Tell You a Secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bebop has some concerns about the relationship he has with Rocksteady and their new girlfriend Averill. His concerns cause a change in the dynamics of the relationship. Is it a change for the better or worse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fills Prompt 3 for Bopsteady Week, Secrets. Still exploring the idea of a polyamorous relationship in this work.

Rocksteady wasn’t sure when things took a turn for the worse in this fight, but he knew his eye was swelling shut and he was feeling a little woozy from a well placed blow from his opponent. The large Irishman knew they had to finish the fight soon or he and Bebop wouldn’t make it to the end without ending up in hospital. Steeling himself, Rock got off the floor where he’d fallen after that last attack and set his jaw. He was ready to finish this hard and fast.

With a roar, Rocksteady rushed past the meathead who’d knocked him down and at the man attacking Bebop. Their opponent didn’t react as quickly and got caught in the the throat by Rock’s forearm. Rocksteady felt his boot connect with the side of the fallen man and he heard Bebop behind him laying waste to other guy in the fight. Within a few moments, the battle was done and Bebop and Rocksteady were the victors.

“I don’t know why we didn’t start with that,” Bebop yelled over the sound of the crowd cheering. 

It hadn’t been their plan to take part in an underground fighting ring that night, but the money for winning was good and Rocksteady was tired of eating instant noodles. As he and Bebop stumbled home, bruised and battered, he wondered if their girlfriend would be willing to cook for them.

“Maybe we can ask Averill to go to the shop and buy food for a proper meal.” Rocksteady looked over to Bebop. “Do yeh t’ink she’d do it?”  
Bebop shrugged and only responded with, “Ask her when we get back.”

Rock wanted to ask why Bebop seemed irritated, but his head hurt too much to be bothered. His plan was to make it back to the loft they shared together with Averill and fall asleep on the couch. Though he was worried that Bebop might snap at his their girlfriend. Beebs had accepted her offer to open their relationship and he seemed on board most days. He even seemed to like Avey some days, but Rock was still concerned that Beebs hadn’t fully gotten used to having her around.

His headache had worsened by the time they’d gotten back to their loft and Rock was sure the pain was clear on his face. He tried to make it past Averill sitting on the chair by the window without her noticing, but her gaze sharpened when she saw them.

“What the hell have you two been up to tonight?” Her eyes hesitated on Rocksteady’s face, but concern caused her brow to furrow when she saw the blood trailing down Bebop’s face. Without another word, Averill was up and in the bathroom to get the the first aid kit they kept in there. The supplies were sparse, but she could make do with what they had. Rock dropped onto the couch and Bebop sat himself heavily on the chair Averill had just vacated.

“Take care of Rock first,” Bebop told Averill when she came back into the room. “He took a hit to his noggin.” She hesitated, but listened to Beebs and went to the larger man first. Averill perched herself on the edge of the couch near Rocksteady’s head and looked at his swollen eye. With a sigh, she patted him lightly on the cheek and stood up. They both watched her go to the kitchen, grab a towel, and wrap a handful of ice in it. 

“Keep that on your eye and do not fall asleep,” she said as she handed the towel to Rock. “I’m pretty sure you have a concussion.” Averill turned and went over the Bebop. She opened the first aid kit and picked a few things out before getting started on cleaning the blood from his face.

The gash above his eyebrow was caused by the ring one of their opponents was wearing. Bebop had missed getting clocked in the eye, but the sharpened piece of jewelry made it close enough to tear through the skin. It wouldn’t need to be stitched, but Averill had butterfly bandages ready to apply after she cleaned the cut.

Bebop watched her work in silence and occasionally looked over her shoulder to Rocksteady. The red head’s eyelids were drooping some, but they were open and he was watching the scene before him. Beebs was worried about him, though he didn’t want to voice that concern in front of Averill. He’d gotten used to her being around and part of his and Rock’s relationship, but he wasn’t yet comfortable showing too much emotion in front of her. She hadn’t seen much more than his usual gregarious self and when he did have his quieter pensive moments, he made sure to remove himself from her company. It wasn’t that he disliked her, he was just unsure about how he felt about her relationship with Rocksteady.

“Owen, don’t you fall asleep!”

Bebop jumped, but not as violently as Rock did from his position on the couch. Both men were accustomed to hearing their chosen names and not their given ones, and Averill usually respected that. But when the situation called for it, she used the names their mothers’ gave them to ensure she had their attention.

“‘M not asleep,” Rock mumbled. “Just restin’ me eyes.” But he still sat up and blinked hard several times. “I’m gonna go get a drink,” he said and carefully stood up. Bebop watched him as he slowly made his way to the kitchenette at the other side of the loft. Averill’s eyes stayed on him for a few moments as well, but she soon turned back to Bebop.

She worked quickly, but gently, and soon enough the blood was gone from Bebop’s face. Averill grabbed the butterfly bandages and began to carefully apply them the cut above Bebop’s brow. After she placed the last bandage, she let her hand fall and rest on his cheek. No words were said between them, but Bebop felt something change and he felt the words bubble up before he had a chance to stop them.

“Don’t let him leave me.” 

Bebop’s voice was little more than a whisper, but Averill heard it clearly. Her brow furrowed and she stroked her thumb across his cheekbone.

“There’s not a force on this earth that could convince Rock to leave you. Why would you be scared of that?” 

Her tone was soft and the edge that often glinted in her eyes was gone. She had opened herself up to him and he saw that she held no judgement, but he still hesitated before he spoke again.

“Rock was straight with me from the start. I knew he liked dudes and ladies, but he chose me. No one had chosen me before.” Bebop looked up at Averill. “I’ve only ever liked men, but I know you’re pretty. I know you’re smart. And I know any man would be stupid to not choose you.” He stopped. He had gotten so close to telling her the fear he’s had since the start of this relationship the three of them had. But he couldn’t do it.

“Anton.” He flinched slightly when he heard his name. “Bebop, he’s not going to choose me over you. He just isn’t. Jesus, Beebs, I’ve never seen anyone be so much in love with another person as much as Rock is in love with you. And I would never dream of getting in the way of that love.”

She had placed free hand on his other cheek so she was cradling his face. Her expression was filled with such sincerity that Bebop felt his chest constrict a little.

“Can I tell you a secret,” he asked her.

She nodded. 

“I kinda like you. You’re all right.”

She laughed and responded, “I kinda like you, too.”

“I kinda love the both of you.”

Rocksteady’s voice came from the area of the couch. Neither of them were sure how much he had heard, but all three sensed the shift that had occurred. They were all quiet for a moment before Rock spoke again.

“Do yeh t’ink we could go grocery shoppin’ tomorrow?”


	3. Lost in the Supermarket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bebop, Rocksteady, and Averill go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to make a decent, home cooked meal. But nothing goes smoothly when Bebop and Rocksteady are together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I combined two prompts for Bopsteady week to write this chapter. Destroy Everything and Feast seemed to go hand in hand with what I had in mind for this story.

Averill had never had a grocery shopping experience quite like this one. It had started off innocently enough with her, Bebop, and Rocksteady heading to the market to buy supplies to make a decent meal. The fight where the men won their money for this shopping venture had left the two of them looking rough and they all earned some stares. The swelling around Bebop’s eyebrow had gone down overnight, but the bruise surrounding Rocksteady’s eye had only seemed to worsen. Both men, though, seemed excited at the prospect of a home cooked meal. 

Bebop and Rocksteady trailed behind Averill as she wandered the aisles looking for ingredients. She didn’t have anything particular in mind and the men hadn’t requested anything specific, so she was just grabbing things that caught her attention. Though she did have the presence of mind to pick up a few imperishables so they’d have something decent to eat when they’d spent the money. Averill stopped to examine a box of cake mix and the two men behind her talked excitedly about the meal they were going to have.

“Hey, Avey, have yeh come up wit’ any ideas yet?” Rocksteady seemed to be more emotive in his excitement about the upcoming meal than Bebop was. A grin split his face, but he let it drop some when hie swollen black eye caused him discomfort. The glee was present in his other eye, though, and the blue of his iris seemed to shine brighter than it normally did. 

“You’d be happy with a baked potato, my man,” Bebop chimed in.

“Absolutely I would. Not’in wrong wit’ a potato cooked any way; baked, boiled, fried.”

“You Irish and your potatoes. Do you know how to eat anything else?”

Averill listened and chuckled as they continued their banter. She had walked down the aisle a little ways from them when she heard the commotion. Turning around, she saw Rock’s arm around Bebop’s neck and they were roughhousing enough to knock a few cans off the shelf. Before she could get their attention and tell them to stop, the two of them turned and knocked a display of pie ingredients over. Cans of pie filling and bags of flour exploded and covered the floor. The two men stopped long enough to assess the damage and startled when they heard an employees voice.

“You guys better pay for that!” 

Bebop and Rocksteady took off and ran around Averill and her shopping cart. Beebs grabbed Averill’s arm and dragged her along behind them as they ran out of the store. She barely had time to snatch her bag out of the cart before they got out. Averill was not out of shape, but she was breathing hard when they stopped running a few blocks away.

“You guys know we had enough money to pay for that damage, right?” she huffed. “Flour and fruit compote don’t cost too much and you made a pretty penny from that fight last night. It would have been fine.”

“Yeah, but why would we want to waste money on food we can’t eat?” asked Bebop. “Of course,” he continued, “now we have to find another grocery store to go to.”

“The nearest one is miles away.” Rock was definitely whining, but no one called him out on it. “We’ll have to spend money on subway fare and then carry all the bags back across town.”

“Oh come on you guys,” Averill laughed. “I’m all about saving money, so I made sure to pick up a few discounted items at the store.” She opened the large tote purse she was carrying and they saw a variety of canned fruits and vegetables along with some spices. “It’s not much, but I can make do with it. We can have this tonight and try grocery shopping again tomorrow.” 

Grins spread across the faces of both men and Bebop let out a laugh.

“Look at our little criminal girlfriend, Rock. Stealing the supplies to make us dinner!” He placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. “What did we do to deserve her?”

Averill could feel the warmth spread across her cheeks. It wasn’t often Beebs showed her any kind of physical affection, so she was happy to get it. She did hope, though, after their emotional exchange last night that she’d be on the receiving end of more of his affection. The smile stayed on her face even after he let go and they all headed back to the loft.

As soon as they walked in the door, Averill headed to their kitchenette and started pulling the stolen groceries out of her bag. Bebop and Rocksteady went to the couch and sat down while bantering about who would have won the scuffle between them in the supermarket. Averill was only half listening as she drained the vegetables from the cans and grabbed a packet of instant noodles to bulk up the meal some. She wasn’t a great chef, but she could make do with the sparse ingredients she had available. She had just put water on to boil for the noodles when she heard a loud crack from the living area. 

Bebop had fallen to the floor, but Rocksteady was still on the now broken couch. Wood splinters were all over the floor and one of the legs had skidded across the room. Averill looked at the destruction in front of her and laughed. The two men regarded her for a moment before they joined in.

“Everything you’ve two touch today has broken,” she laughed.

“Everything?”

Bebop smirked at her and then looked to Rocksteady. They came to a silent agreement.

“No. No, you guys.” Averill put her hands up in front of her as Bebop and Rocksteady stood up from their fallen positions. “I am cooking you two a nice meal. Don’t you da-”

Rocksteady rushed toward her before she had a chance to finish speaking. Bebop tried to come around and flank her, but she grabbed a serving spoon off the kitchen table and swung it at him. Averill sidestepped Rock as he reached for her. She ran toward the broken couch and jumped over it, but slid when her feet hit the floor. That brief loss of balance gave Beebs enough time to come up behind her and grab her around the middle. Rock soon joined them and wrapped his arms around the both of them.

“Oh my god,” Averill laughed. “Stop. This is ridiculous.” Her face was resting on Rocksteady’s chest and Bebop’s chest was pressed against her back. With her feet dangling above the ground, it wasn’t the most comfortable position, but she loved the feeling of being held between them.

“You’re havin’ fun, though,” Rock chuckled.

Before Averill had a chance to react, Rocksteady tumbled all three of them over onto the mattress on the floor. It was a rough landing, but Averill laughed harder than she had been before. She rested her cheek on Rock’s bicep and took a moment to really feel what was happening. Bebop’s breath ghosted across her neck and his hands were still on her waist. She felt Rock move his free arm and rest his hand on Bebop’s shoulder. The three of them didn’t say anything or move. This was the first time the three of them had been so intimately close. She wanted this moment to last as long as possible.

The water boiling on the stove had other ideas and soon Bebop disconnected from them. He moved his hand to cover where Rock’s hand rested on Averill’s hip, so contact between the three of them wasn’t completely lost.

“We’re never gonna have this meal if we don’t get up,” he said.

Averill sighed, but disentangled herself from Rocksteady’s embrace.

“This feast isn’t going to make itself, I guess.” She stood up and headed back over to the stove to turn the heat on the water down. Averill had placed the noodles in the boiling water and moved to start cooking the vegetables when she felt a pair of hands on her waist. Turning her head, she saw Rocksteady placing his chin on her shoulder. 

“We might end up destroying the food, but can we help?” 

Bebop’s voice came from the far end of the countertop. Averill smiled and tossed him the serving spoon.

“Keep and eye on the noodles. Rock, you can help with the veggies.”

Bebop, Rocksteady, and Averill spent the next twenty minutes cooking and eating one of the best meals any of them had ever had. And none of them would have rather spent the night any other way.


	4. Incarceration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bebop and Rocksteady are on a job gone bad and Beebs doesn't think they're going to make it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I sorta combined two prompts for Bopsteady Week, "My Man" and "Fight." This story also involves police shooting. Please be careful if you are triggered by this. It's a very serious trigger and I want everyone to feel safe while reading fic.

“My man.”

Rocksteady’s voice was weaker than Bebop liked. They had been in countless fights, but this one had been the most intense. Bebop didn’t want to say it aloud, but he wasn’t sure if they were going to make it out of this one. The fools they’d taken this job with had tried to double cross him and Rocksteady, but they’d taken care of them. Not without injury, though. Rocksteady had been stabbed in the side and the tattoo Bebop had on his shoulder had a sizable gash cutting though it. To add insult to injury, he and Rock were now surrounded by NYPD’s best.

“We’re gonna be all right, Rock. We’re gonna get out of this.”

Bebop’s voice held more conviction than he actually felt. He knew there wasn’t a way out of this mess without being arrested or killed by the cops, but still his mind churned trying to find an alternative. But when Bebop turned to look at Rocksteady, his stomach dropped.

His red haired partner was laid out on his back and his stomach was rising and falling quickly as he breathed. Rock’s hand was pressed against the wound on his side, but Bebop could see from across the room that it wasn’t enough. Blood seeped out from between Rocksteady’s fingers and coated his hand. The already pale man had lost most of the color in his face and his eyes seemed to be staring at something far away. 

Bebop almost couldn’t control to urge to run over to his partner, but he knew cops had their guns trained on the windows of the building they were in. Instead, he pressed his belly into the floor and crawled over the Rocksteady. When he got to the bleeding man, Bebop pressed one hand firmly on the wound. It was enough to make Rocksteady groan and shift in pain. 

“Sorry, my man, but I don’t want you bleeding to death in this second rate jewelry store.” Bebop’s free hand went to Rocksteady’s forehead and stroked stray hairs away. He could feel panic settling in his chest, but he tried not to show it. His eyebrows had furrowed some, though.

“What’s the plan, Beebs?” Rocksteady’s voice held a solemn tone and Bebop realized that he had failed in containing the situation. He had failed in protecting the one person who had ever cared about him. He looked down into those shining blue eyes and he didn’t have an answer.

“I don’t know, Rock. If we stay here, we’ll definitely be arrested. If we fight, we might die.” Rocksteady’s hand came to rest on Bebop’s. They looked at each other for a few wordless moments and tried to convey years of emotions through eye contact alone. “I’m sorry, Rock,” Bebop whispered. “I don’t know what to do.” 

He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Rocksteady’s. They could hear the shouts of the officers outside and the sounds of traffic a few blocks over. Bebop could feel Rock’s beard tickling his cheek and he closed the distance between them. Their lips brushed lightly against each other in what was not quite a kiss. It was probably the gentlest they’d ever been with each other, but they knew this might be the last time they had the chance to be gentle. Best case scenario was they’d get put in different prisons and serve sentences separately. The worst case scenario was that neither of them would live long enough to serve those sentences. Bebop felt the panic rise again and pushed his lips against Rocksteady’s in a desperate attempt to communicate the depth of what he was feeling now: fear, rage, love, loss. It was almost too much for Bebop to handle. Rock seemed to get it though because he kissed back with a fierceness that belied his wounded state. 

The glass door shattered behind them and SWAT officers of the NYPD came rushing in. They shouted at Bebop to show his hands, but he wouldn’t move his hand from applying pressure to Rocksteady’s wound.

“He’s bleeding,” Bebop shouted over his shoulder. “I can’t move my hand! He’s bleeding!”

It happened faster than either of the criminals could react. There was a loud pop and Bebop felt a pain in his back. His breath caught in his throat and he looked down at Rock before the officers tackled him to the ground. Rocksteady let out a roar and tried to sit up, but officers were soon on him as well.

“Why did you shoot him? He wasn’t doin’ anyt’ing! Beebs! ” 

Bebop watched as Rocksteady struggled against the men trying to pin him. The pain was evident on his face, but Bebop wasn’t sure if it was from the stab wound or knowing that his partner had been shot in the back by law enforcement. 

“I’m all right, Rock,” he called out. “I’m all right.”

“No you’re not! Beebs! Please!” Rocksteady let out another roar and manage to put an elbow in one of the officers’ face. Rock’s roar turned into a howl when one of the SWAT tased him. Bebop’s heart leapt to his throat as he watched his man fall limp. He was helpless to stop them as they dragged Rocksteady out of the building.

“Tell me he’s gonna get treatment. They’re gonna patch him up, right?” Bebop didn’t expect an answer, so he was surprised when one of the men holding him down patted his shoulder. The man didn’t speak, but the action was reassuring. Bebop had cuffs put on his wrists and was hauled up and pushed outside. He was relieved to see paramedics putting Rock on a gurney to take him to the hospital. The officers holding onto Bebop guided him to a different ambulance and put him inside. The EMTs with him asked questions and he answered tersely, but he was distracted. His thoughts were almost entirely focussed on Rocksteady and whether or not he’d be okay. It took a few moments after the ambulance started moving for him to be hit a wave of guilt.

Averill.

She wasn’t going to know what happened to them when they didn’t come home tonight. She wasn’t going to know that Rock had been stabbed or that Bebop had been shot or that both of them had been arrested. And, worst of all, she probably didn’t know that they were both going to be prosecuted and put away for a long time.

____

Months later, after they had both healed and the trial was finished, Bebop and Rocksteady were on their way to prison. The judge, thankfully, had accepted their request to be incarcerated together. They had plead guilty and taken deals so they could stay together in New York’s prison system. After the verdict was read and their sentence given, Bebop and Rocksteady stood up and were escorted out of the courtroom, but both men caught a glimpse of a young woman in the back of the room. 

Averill watched them as they walked, shackled, to their prison sentence. Neither men had spoken to her since the arrest was made. Now, Averill sat alone in the back row and her face held so many emotions that Bebop couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He stole a glance behind him and saw that Rocksteady was looking right at their girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. He wasn’t really sure anymore. He knew, though, that Rock felt at least as bad as he did about getting her involved in all this. The three of them hadn’t had a long relationship, but it was nice while it lasted. Neither of the men would blame her for not waiting, though. It would be stupid to. 

As Bebop and Rocksteady exited the courtroom and started their journey to prison, Bebop had one comforting thought: at least they had each other.


	5. Free the Beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even in his new form, Rocksteady has been captured. Will Bebop make it to save him? And who is this stranger his captors threw in here with him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final installment for the story I did for Bopsteady Week over on tumblr. This was a helluva thing to do for me. I was a little late getting my prompts done, but I finished the week, so I'm proud.

Rocksteady was furious. He was in pain, exhausted, and furious. His breaths came in shallow gasps and his arms were wrenched up above him with steel chain. After their transformation, Rock thought he and Bebop wouldn’t have to worry about these kinds of situations anymore. But it seemed that people were more sadistic when you’re a giant rhino.

Rock’s ears twitched when he heard the bolt to the door being opened. He heard noises of a struggle and an angry voice yelling. There were other voices laughing and soon a body was thrown into the room with him. 

“I don’t know where your people are, but I’m sure this one in here will appreciate the company.”

The person who had been thrown in tried to rush the man who had just been sneering, but a boot caught them in the stomach and they fell to the ground. The creep of a man gave one more kick to their side before he walked out and locked the door behind him. Rock’s eyesight wasn’t any better since being turned into a rhino, but his other senses were pretty good. His hearing had gotten better, as had his sense of smell. There was something vaguely similar about the scent of this new person, but he couldn’t place it.

The newcomer struggled to their feet and Rocksteady could hear them huffing from the kick. They turned and stumbled further into the room where Rock could finally get a better view. When he saw who it was, he took a sharp breath. The woman also inhaled when she saw him.

“Shit,” Averill breathed. Her eyes were wide and her brow furrowed. She moved a little closer and tried to examine him from a distance. “Who are you?”

Rocksteady wanted to speak, but he couldn’t find words. Bebop had been supportive and accepting of the transformation, likely because they’d known each other so long but also because he’d been turned into a warthog. Averill didn’t have the same history with him and she hadn’t been transformed in anyway. At least, not by some alien ooze.

She did look a little different, though. She’d cut her hair shorter and she looked like she’d lost weight. Too much weight, really, because she looked gaunt. Rock wanted to tell her that she needed to eat better and he wanted to ask her why she looked so tired, but no words came to him. What was she going to think when she realized it was him? After a while of him not speaking, she went and sat down with her back against a wall. He couldn’t see her properly, but he could hear her breathing and soon she had the rhythmic breaths of sleep.

Rocksteady managed to doze off a little, too, but was soon awoken by the sound of heavy footsteps. The door opened suddenly and a group of his captors gathered around him. Some of them carried bats and others had knives in their hands. Rock heard Averill shift and he hoped she’d stay where she was. 

“So, you’re a rhino,” the leader sneered. “That means your horn is worth something. I looked it up.” He took his bat and swung it at Rock’s midsection. “I’m gonna take your horn, but first I’m gonna have some fun.” 

Rock grunted when the bat hit him in the stomach. This new body was even tougher than his human one, but blows like that still hurt. His whole midsection was tender from repeated beatings like this one. He had lost track of how long he’d been here in this hellhole, but he knew Beebs was looking for him. 

There was a rustling over by where Averill had been sitting and suddenly she was in between Rocksteady and the man beating him. The man smirked at her and lifted the bat to hit her out of the way. Averill sidestepped him and grabbed the bat before she pushed it back and caught him square in the nose. There was a crack and blood poured down his lip and chin. Rock had a moment to be proud of her before, but another man came from the crowd and hit Averill with a right hook. The brass knuckles he’d been wearing cut a clean line across her cheekbone and blood now trickled down her face. Before she had a chance to get back up, the man grabbed Averill and pulled her to her feet.

“You like him or something?” the man shouted in her face. “You protecting this freak because you got a crush?” He hit her in the stomach this time and she grunted in pain. “I’m sure we can arrange some alone time for you two.” 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. Flipping the blade out, he cut through the collar of her shirt. It only took her shoulder being exposed for the rage to explode inside Rocksteady. He let out a deafening roar and lunged forward against his restraints. The gang of men stumbled backward in fear and a few ran out of the room when they heard the chain creaking against the pressure. The man holding Averill threw her on the ground at Rock’s feet and took a few steps back. He then grabbed his friend with the broken nose and dragged him out of the room. Soon enough, Rock and Averill were locked alone in the room.

Looking down at his feet, Rock saw Averill shaking and panting. He moved his foot and nudged her lightly. She didn’t look up at him, but she did pull herself closer to him and settled on the floor against his legs. They stayed that way for a long time without saying anything.

Now would be a good time to say something, Rocksteady thought. 

But he looked down at her and saw that her breathing had evened out and she seemed calmer. It seemed unfair to surprise her by revealing himself after she’d just calmed down. He was comforted, though, that she didn’t seem afraid of him. Not that Bebop or Rocksteady cared if people were scared of them, before or after their transformation. Averill was an exception, though. She was tough, sure, but Rock still worried how she might react. 

Rocksteady was distracted from his thoughts by an itch on his nose. He crinkled his face and tried to rub it against his shackled arm, but to no avail. Averill heard his sniffling and turned to look up at him.

“You need help?” she asked. 

He nodded and she stood up and gently placed her hands on his muzzle. She scratched lightly and he moved his head so her nails found the right spot. When he looked at her, a small smile graced her lips. Rock was pleased to see it and he felt his own face form a smile. Her eyes traveled over his face and trailed up his arms. It was almost like she was admiring him, but her face fell when she stopped to look at his forearm. Her hands dropped and an unreadable expression spread across her features. Averill took a step back and her eyes fell to Rocksteady’s stomach. With a jolt, Rock realized what was happening. She’d seen his tattoos.

“Averill.”

She shook her head and looked back at his face.

“Rock.” Her voice wavered when she spoke. “Oh god, Rock, is that you?” She stepped forward and closed the distance. Her hand came up again and rested on his chest. “What happened?”

“Beebs and I broke out of custody with the Shredder a few weeks back,” he said. “Shredder decided to use us as his cronies and then transformed us with some kind of ooze.”

Averill blinked a few times before she said, “That sounds really odd.” Rock nodded his head and grinned. “How did you get here though? I heard about your escape and I’ve been trying to find you.” She ran her fingers along his collar bone and tried to take in all that had changed about the man. “Where’s Bebop?” she asked quietly.

“I t’ink he’s okay. It was just me that got caught by these guys.” Rocksteady tried to sound reassuring, but he’d been chained up in this room for days.

“You guys just left,” Averill whispered. “You left one day and never came back and when I heard that Bebop had been shot that day...” She trailed off. Rock nudged her with his muzzle. He and Bebop had talked a little about the guilt they had when they didn’t contact her after the arrest. They had denied any ties with anyone because they thought it would be better if she didn’t have cops tailing her. Especially since they’d planned on getting back to her after laying low for a while.

“Avey, we were gonna come back. As soon as we broke out we were plannin’ on coming back to yeh. Shredder got us first, t’ough. Same night we broke out, he transformed us.”

Shouts and crashes came from the other side of the door. Averill turned to look just as something crashed through in the room.

“Oi! Turtle! What are yeh doing here?” Rock shouted.

The giant turtle turned toward them and shouted back, “Saving your sorry ass!”

Rocksteady was taken aback by that, but before he could dwell on it, Bebop rushed into the room. The warthog’s face lit up when he saw his partner was safe.

“My man!”

“My man!”

Averill stepped out of the way as another, taller turtle went to Rocksteady’s hands. Within moments, the rhino’s arms were free and wrapped around Bebop. The two checked each other over and Averill watched from a distance. 

“You got some questionable friends over there.”

The voice came from the first turtle. Averill looked at him and stayed silent. She couldn’t quite keep track of what was happening in her life at that moment, but there was a glimmer of warmth in her belly when she saw Bebop and Rocksteady together. She took a few cautious steps, passing the taller turtle and stopping just behind Bebop. 

“Bebop.”

He turned at the sound of his name. It took him a moment to look down, but when he did his demeanor changed. His shoulders went stiff and the smile dropped from his face.

“You got shot,” Averill said quietly. “You got shot and you wouldn’t let me see you.” 

Rocksteady could see from his position behind Bebop that tears had started to form in her eyes. He also saw Bebop’s shoulder somehow get tenser and his whole back stiffened. Rock saw that Averill was trying to fight crying, but she wasn’t succeeding.

“Well, we’re gonna head out. This is too weird for me. Bebop, Rocksteady try to stay out of trouble. Oh, and you’re welcome for rescuing your boyfriend, Bebop.” 

The two turtles disappeared into the rafters of the building and Averill was alone with Bebop and Rocksteady. She sniffed and wiped her face with her hands. She tried to find something to say, but before she could Bebop’s arms were around her. He held her gently as her hands came to rest on his sides. 

“Sorry, Averill,” he muttered. “Didn’t mean for this happen.”

He could feel some of her tears falling in the hair on his belly and her grip tightened. Rock came up beside them and enveloped them both in his arms. The three of them stayed like that without speaking for a long time. None of them had much to say, but that was okay. They were back together and had all the time in the world to say things.


End file.
